72Point Enter PRWeek's Top 150
April 23 2018
Entering PRWeek's Top 150 at an impressive #54, we demonstrate our unique offering as a PR Consultancy with an innate understanding of the news environment, able to tap into the media landscape across all platforms in a way that most traditional agencies can’t.
Why a strong content base should be part of your marketing strategy
Traditional marketing is becoming less effective by the day. Instead of simply pitching your services and products to potential clients, the way to achieve vital cut-through now is to provide them with truly relevant and useful content that gives them actionable insight.
The Content Marketing Institute’s annual research reveals that the vast majority of marketers are including content marketing as part of their strategy. They state that there are three key benefits for any enterprise that utilises content marketing, which include increased sales, cost savings and better customers who have more loyalty.
These are absolute no-brainers as to why content marketing should be a key aspect of your strategy. At the end of the day, marketing is impossible without quality, engaging content, so if you devise a strong content base to your overarching strategy then all aspects will greatly benefit.
Social Media, SEO, PR, PPC and inbound marketing are just some of the strategies that can be boosted by utilising clever content marketing. Using a diverse range of rich media serves to keep your customers engaged and grabs their attention instantly.
Infographics, videos, embeddable quizzes, animations and images are all methods in which you can provide customers with relevant high-quality content that can improve their loyalty to you and boost your brand exposure.
Here at 72Point, our in-house design team provide a comprehensive content marketing offering.
We worked in collaboration with Freuds on their social campaign for NHS England, putting together a number of assets including several animated GIF’s, static graphics and a short animation. This provided NHS with great content that was posted across their Twitter channels, and by various other health organisations - raising awareness of the services available via NHS111 and delivering the key messaging of their campaign in a creative way.
The team also crafted an animation for The Department of Culture, Media and Sport as part of their ‘free wifi’ campaign, which saw over 1,000 public buildings in cities across the UK transformed into free wifi hotspots, supporting their larger #BuildingBritain campaign. The package included a 45 second animation and a GIF of the final sequence. As well as this, we supported the campaign by providing social media graphics to be used by public organisations, raising awareness of the campaign.
Our infographics are divided into five different pieces, meaning that they can be posted out at different times across different social channels, providing clients with plenty of longevity on their campaigns, whilst our animations are perfectly tailored for social in length and design.
Whether you are looking for a high-quality social project to maximise your brand exposure (take a look at our breakthrough package here), or a clever piece of visual content to embed on your website or post across your social channels, 72Point should be your one-stop shop for all content marketing needs.
The Perfect PR Package For SEO
Why we believe we have created the perfect PR package for SEO
With SEO and PR markets increasingly merging agencies at both sides of the border have started to encroach on each other’s turf to sell their wares.
Firms that once specialised in web mapping and site structure are now huge content generators, while those who have spent years honing their media relations are now working their press releases around key words and link-building strategies.
While we don’t proclaim to be SEO specialists, we do believe we have built the perfect PR package to help firms boost their off-site SEO thanks to our unique position in the media market.
Here’s a run-down of what it includes:
Link building
Link building is one of the oldest SEO strategies in the book. Since the late 1990s search engines have treated links as votes for popularity and importance in the ongoing democratic opinion poll of the web, and as such brands are constantly on the hunt to secure follow links back to their site from high-DA and relevant sites.
Our Breakthrough package offers a money-back guarantee of two follow links from publications with a DA of over 90, and we look to secure as many links as we can elsewhere to ensure there’s a healthy mix.
What’s more, our link building strategy has been developed alongside the digital desks on national publications which means we are always one step ahead of the curve when it comes to changes in link policies on national newspapers. Given that this usually has a trickle-down effect, it’s always good to be in the know.
For more advice on how to link build, see our top tips page here.
Social signals
Although links remain an important part of the SEO mix, there’s an indication that Google is shifting from exogenous signals to a new approach that relies on endogenous signals. That means a big focus on quality and an even bigger focus on social signals such as how sticky a piece of content is and how many people interact with it.
As part of the Breakthrough package we include social media distribution of the story via our in-house social media channels that places the content in front of relevant people who are more likely to share and interact with it.
Take a look at how we achieved our first quarter-million share month for our clients here
Web presence
Garnering a wide spread of coverage is key to an effective SEO strategy. The popularity of a story can amplify your brands message and presence on the web, so creating powerful, engaging content that gets wide pick up is a silver bullet solution to getting noticed in search.
We distribute our Breakthrough stories to a guaranteed 137 regional sites, including the likes of The Scotsman, Yorkshire Post and Lancashire Evening Post. On top of that we get guaranteed national coverage and widespread pick-up from relevant titles that deliver a healthy web presence almost at the click of a button.
To get an idea of the sort of numbers we can achieve, check our results from 2017
Content collateral
Finally, all the content we create for our clients as part of the Breakthrough package is theirs to own and use on their site and social platforms.
From the research to the video and visual assets, we provide clients with a range of content that will boost visibility on search and helps deliver longevity in the campaign. Our infographics are cut up as five separate visual assets which can be posted out on social media over a number of weeks or months, and our videos sit perfectly on landing pages that sip up that all-important SEO juice.
Get in touch with us today to see how we can help with your SEO strategy.
How to Capitalise on Influencer Marketing
In 2017 it was recorded that there was an 325 per cent increase in influencer marketing searches on Google. With Kylie Jenner being capable of wiping off $1.3 billion off of Snapchat’s value in one Tweet and the mass outrage brought about by Youtube star’s Logan Paul’s visit to Japan, it is clear influencers are as important as they have ever been. However, with that in mind, there is a right and wrong way to use influencers for brand purposes. This is especially true where Jenner was also responsible for the complete social media catastrophe in Pepsi’s controversial advert last year. Here’s our tips on how your brand can safely use social media stars to elevate and gain coverage.
Tips
1) The Bot Problem
A recent survey from the University of Southern California and Indiana University found that up to 15 per cent of all Twitter accounts were not even real people but bots. Significantly, this means that up to 50 million accounts are fake. It also doesn’t ignore the fact that many wannabe influencers are buying these bots to make themselves look more credible. This is relevant as it could mean that by using these influencers, you could be conveying a strong message to a very small audience which is not just a waste of time but also money.
2) Focusing on the Right Demographic
More followers may equate to potentially more eyes on your brand but it doesn’t necessarily guarantee success if the brand’s message can’t accurately be conveyed by that influencer. At 72Point we focus on listening attentively to customer needs as brand message is the biggest priority in any campaign we produce. This is exemplified by our recent campaign for Cineworld which used The Mash Report’s Rachel Parris to highlight “what makes the perfect film.” The success garnered a staggering 148 pieces of coverage in print and online media, with coverage in the Metro and The Sun. Consequently, the message was authentic and combined an influencer who had an engaged following with a brand they loved. This unsurprisingly resulted in a natural relationship that worked very well. Therefore, the focus should be on having a partnership with an influencer who has followers in the right demographic who are actually listening and will be interested in the brand’s message.
3) Consistency
Staying true to your values is an unheralded value that is dismissed more often than not. However, in the increasingly scrutinized world of social media it can come back to haunt you in the worst ways. This was best shown with Zoella’s old Tweets resurfacing. By using influencers you have to be very careful in picking consistent individuals who you are confident can deliver. The core of 72Point also focuses on consistently providing good results that don’t devalue a brand in circumstances that may result in negative coverage later on. Ultimately, this can only be rectified by strong research for brands to find the right people for the job.
4) Measurement
Without the right tools it is difficult to evaluate how successful a campaign has been, which is why a large proportion of the job in conjunction with influencers is convincing them that we can deliver on our promises. The Digital Team at 72Point focuses a large proportion of their time measuring different metrics and keeping up to date with trends to stay on track in the ever-advancing digital landscape. Overwhelmingly, it means our content matches up well with how much extra coverage an influencer can provide to strengthen a brand to the next level.
Conclusion
As a PR firm we are always looking to capitalise on the next big trends but before doing so it’s always important to step back and get the fundamentals of conveying the right message to the right audience. The marketing and PR world is always adapting but with these tips it could provide an effective solution to help steer your brand in the right direction.
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Why PR Needs To Be A Valuable Part of Your 2018 Marketing Strategy
The beauty of PR as a 21st century marketing tool is that it has evolved into an all-encompassing method of communication. Few, if any, comms methods in a modern marketer’s tool kit could claim to meet SEO, social media and brand exposure KPIs in one fell swoop, but thanks to the nature of the digital market that is precisely what PR can achieve.
In an age where content is king, creating stories and empowering storytellers has given brands oxygen on the web to stand out where others get swallowed up. Little surprise, therefore, that 77 per
cent of exhibitors at this year’s Prolific North Live carried out PR campaigns in 2017 and 92 per cent look to do it in 2018 as well.
But there are objections to utilising PR tactics among the marketing community, namely because confusion exists over how to implement a successful PR plan.
And who can blame them? The market today is extremely crowded, which means the ability to stand out is becoming increasingly difficult. PR can return a bounty of positive business benefits, but only if campaigns are orchestrated successfully, which returns me to my initial point.The art of PR is about creating stories and empowering storytellers. Whether it be journalists, bloggers, vloggers or social media influencers, having a good story at the heart of your campaign is key to its success, and so a PR plan should always start with idea generation and stress testing.
Although journalists and other media professionals aren’t always on hand to judge a story before it has been created, plenty of agencies do have current or former hacks on their books, so seek them out and run your ideas by them before you get underway. After all, overcoming the first hurdle early on will ensure you don’t run into any bumps further down the line. Then, make sure you develop the campaign with a holistic approach across all platforms and channels. Ask whether there is a natural linking structure to satisfy SEO objectives, whether the content is optimised for online media and social media and that it is sharable.
Crucially, make sure you have an effective means of distributing the story beyond your established circles by assessing how to make a big splash in the media and ways in which to infiltrate social media audiences that aren’t currently in touch with your brand. With over nine in ten companies set to roll out PR campaigns this year, the reality is that PR is not something you can afford not to do.
72Point secures media exposure for your brand across digital and traditional media. We create, distribute, and land PR and branded news stories in massmedia publications including Daily Mail, The Mirror, The Sun, Daily Telegraph and Metro as well as mass-readership news sites such as The Independent and UNILAD. Content. Covered.
This blog was written as part of 72Point’s presentation at Prolific North Live 2018 as part of their Digital Keynote Theatre – click here to view video highlights from the event
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How to Make the Most of Marketing Exhibitions
How to Make the Most of Marketing Exhibitions
Exhibitions form a key part of a marketer’s arsenal, offering unique face-to-face communication with prospective clients and vital networking opportunities. But it can be a tricky task to maximise the takeaway from these events. Last week, 72Point attended the Prolific North Live Expo at EventCity in Manchester. If you read our earlier blog (http://www.72point.com/future-digital-media-north-heres/) you will be aware of just how pivitol the North is within the digital industry. 70 per cent of total UK digital tech investment was in regional clusters beyond London, with Edinburgh (£159 million), Manchester (£78 million) and Sheffield (£61 million) among the notable recipients. The event represented a massive opportunity for us to interact with the biggest movers and shakers of the digital sphere, and we wanted to share our strategy for how we maximised our return on investment.
Make sure your branding stands out
Expos offer a fantastic opportunity to get your brand out there, and you should be looking at capitalising on every opportunity you get to do so. From merchandise to sponsored events, billboards and digital content, it is crucial that you utilise as much of the available collateral at hand to make sure your brand has prominence. At Prolific North Live, we sponsored the keynote session as a way of ensuring that our logo was in as many visual slots as possible. Our Managing Director Chris Pharo and ChannelMum’s Jane Hamilton also took to the stage to share their vital experience and insights on the changing world of digital media, news and PR, which reaffirmed our position as a professional, authoritative brand. It also gives attendees some real takeaway – making them more likely to attend and remember your brand.
Keep It Simple
Simple but effective branding is the best way to convey your message. Long-winded, complex collateral can often result in key messaging being lost. Any collateral used at an event should be punchy yet informative. At our exhibition stand at Prolific North Live, we made sure to keep it simple. As an agency that creates, distributes and lands proactive stories in major publications, we can cut out the marketing fluff and just say it as it is, highlighting our key services and ROI for clients. Making sure that your message is conveyed clearly and concisely with your exhibition panels is vital so that any passers by can instantly recognise your specialties at a glance. This will give potential customers a lasting impression of what you specialise in, meaning that you will likely be their first port of call.
Engage with social channels
Events provide great visual content for social media channels, another key way to boost engagement. Followers can be gained by simply interacting naturally with other attendees and piggy-backing on the momentum that any decent expo will generate. The exhibition floor at Prolific North Live was full of cutting-edge brands showcasing innovative tech which lent itself to regular Instragram story updates – great engaging visual content for our followers to view. Through regular updates linked to the event you can boost traffic to your social pages page and gain followers. Twitter feeds work well when utilised on a rolling basis displaying general updates and goings-on at the event including relevant hashtags. This provides followers with a newsfeed, giving them all the information they need.
The take-homes
Marketing events are a great way to boost brand exposure and increase traffic to company websites/social channels – all very viable justifications for allocating spend. But, above everything, attending marketing events allows your company to stay on top of industry trends. They provide a fertile ground for networking with key individuals and learning about what’s current and what’s next to come – allowing you to identify how this relates to you. This knowledge can be invaluable in keeping your brand fresh and relevant.
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2018: The PR Trends that you need to monitor
Jack Granard looks ahead to the trends you need to monitor in 2018. See the first of this two-part feature on the digital media predictions of 2017 that you should have followed here.
2017 oversaw the continued evolution of what it is to be a PR professional, as it became more influenced by digital elements, social media and marketing.
Importantly, as content became more visual, it superseded the tried tested methods, such as traditional press releases, whilst also bringing about the rise in the use of video, influencer and infographic content. This article will highlight the upcoming trends that need to be monitored in 2018 and how it can be incorporated by your company.
The Future Role of PR: The Statistics
The advancement of the PR role is indicative of the importance of reacting quickly to the latest PR trends so as not to be left behind.
A 2017 USC Annenberg Global Communications study which interviewed 875 PR executives and 101 marketers from around the world found that digital storytelling is the biggest future PR trend with 88% citing it as important. Moreover, social listening ranked second (82%) followed by social purpose (71%) and Big Data (70%).
In terms of skills for future growth, strategic planning with 89% was voted as the most important, followed by written communications (86%), social media (84%), multimedia content development (82%), and verbal communications (80%).
87% of professionals believe the term “public relations” will not describe the work they do in five years, which exemplifies the initial point about being reactive. This is given further strength, where 60% of marketing executives believe PR and marketing will become dramatically more aligned in the near future.
Ultimately, these figures suggest the importance of being a well-rounded PR executive. It is essential to keep on adapting, otherwise the PR professional today could become extinct in as soon as 5 years.
Dark Social Media
Data coverage and tracking in the PR industry has become a fundamental element of presentation and success for clients, in identifying social influence and monitoring performance. However, what is impossible to track is dark social, which is defined as the communication through private messaging platforms, such as, text, email, Whatsapp, Messenger and Skype. The importance of tracking this is accentuated by the likes of Forbes.
Bearing any privacy concerns, the main interests in measuring this is emphasised by the notion that increasingly we are more likely to share a link via dark social than on your Facebook profile. Consequently, PR firms are incapable of measuring this and are left confused as to where the rise in traffic to websites stems from. Significantly, standard web analytics are incapable of measuring this and key insights are lost.
Therefore, to start measuring dark social, one method could be to really emphasise the social sharing buttons on your site, whilst making sure all buttons have trackable links. Alternatively, if your direct track URLs are too long, it will be more unlikely to have been typed in their browser.
Overall, with this being a recent hot point, it is notable to keep your eyes peeled for new developments.
Artificial Intelligence
As stated throughout, data measurement has been very important to the PR role and AI has the potential to extend this further, through being utilised for basic research and media monitoring.
By utilising data scientists to predict future trends and investing in artificial intelligence to also combat this, it could pave the way for workload to be reduced for PR companies and to predict when and what businesses need to change. However, one topic that has been heavily discussed is the usage of intelligent chatbots. These bots powered by artificial intelligence could evolve the way customer communication is utilised and may also be used to create a new fun concept to promote a brand. Further weight is given, as it was highlighted by Business Insider as “the biggest thing since the iPhone.”
Speech Recognition Technology
Whether you have seen the parody videos or you have utilised the technology in Amazon Echo, Apple Siri or Google Home, it is largely agreeable that it has been a strong talking point recently.
Speech recognition built into modern devices is quick, accurate and definitely the future. With the possibility of it being used more frequently it could bring about a process where ads and SEO are not relevant. This has been heavily advocated by Steve Waddington (Social Media Director at Ketchum) who believes it will “create another wave of internet disintermediation.”
With rising incomes and interest in becoming more technological, firms should try to incorporate this technology into their campaigns and find new ways to be different.
Personal Brand Reputation and Social Ethics
Is it obvious? Yes.
Does, more need to be done? Yes.
Social media has brought about exposure in new ways, putting us all under scrutiny. However, this is also a positive thing as it allows the opportunity for engagement with all these individuals through social media to gauge what this company is like. Previously, executives would target features in broadsheet papers but now optimising social networks is essential to harbouring not just brand reputation but a personal relationship with the consumer.
72Point has effectively created a space to combat this and has evolved through its recent brand revamp to better understand our organisation, our consumers and our goals. Now with increasing competition and shorter attention spans, only specialised websites who understand how to communicate effectively with all these new tools can succeed.
The PR industry is only likely to become more ethically focused with the Public Relations Communication Association’s (PRCA) expulsion of Bell Pottinger being a major point in 2017. Therefore, more awareness and positive messaging needs to be shown to restore trust.
Conclusion
This year will involve more competition and more technologies to use than ever before. At 72Point, we attempt to stay one step ahead and monitor these trends carefully. The PR world is a jungle and it has been shown to be ruthless in the past year. Therefore, more personal and genuine campaigns need to be implemented this year before it is too late.
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2017: The Digital Media Trends that you should have followed
In the first of a two part series, Jack Granard looks back at the digital media predictions of 2017 that you should have followed.
A year can seem like a long time in the media business these days.
Just last week, Facebook announced changes to its algorithm that effectively turns the industry on its head, with many publishers and comms agencies forced to reverse well-worn practices to ensure they don’t get slapped by the updates.
But as the common saying goes, those who do not learn from their history are doomed to repeat it, and with that in mind, we take a look back at the PR trends that caught our eye in 2017.
1) The Fake News Blues: The Focus on Personal and More Reliable Content
Unless you’ve been living under a rock you will be aware of how often the term “fake news” has been used this year. In fact, so worn has the phrase become that it was officially crowned the ‘Word of the Year’ by Collins Dictionary. Even Theresa May weighed in, announcing a whole unit to combat the rise and spread of the media's phony phenomenon.
In 2017 we saw PR take on the role of becoming a more reliable source for media outlets. Rising scepticism amongst consumers and greater diligence required from journalists as a consequence of “fake news” acted as a catalyst for a renewed focus on reputation management from content production to the individuals involved in its creation.
Ultimately, this gave rise to third-party research being essential to the success of pitches. At 72Point we utilise the partnership with our market research arm at OnePoll and with our brands’ own studies when compiling stories to ensure they meet exceptionally high standards.
2) Social media domination: Video and Live In the Moment Content
A common theme of my commute to work involves reading up on the news or if I am in need of a laugh, watching the latest viral video on my phone. Whether you agree with it being a good thing or not, you can’t disagree that society has become addicted to their mobile phones. Furthermore, at a breakneck pace we have become more interested in visual and video content as a subsequent result of our social media use. As early as 2013, it was found that the average person watches 32 videos per month, and interestingly, there’s a 74 percent increase in understanding when someone watches a video. Subsequently, our 2017 objective was to increase our video content production and utilise our talented design team to create more infographics and animations for customers. The importance of having an early lead on this is strengthened by the 2017 report from Cisco which predicted that 75% of the world’s mobile traffic will be video by 2020.
Now, with Facebook live, Periscope, Youtube Live, Instagram and Twitch exploding in interest, 2017 highlighted the applicability of creating content that could gain immediate responses.
3) The Traditional Media Press Release Is Dead
The old method of writing press releases for the media has been overtaken by posting on a website in conjunction with emails and Tweets to customers and journalists. This more direct focus has streamlined the process and has created a faster turn-around. Significantly, 2017 marked for most firms the reduced significance of press releases with media channels concentrating on becoming more visual and creative. A good example of this is Manchester United’s recent announcement of new signing Alexis Sanchez which was utilised by a cinematic Twitter video.
4) Evolution of the PR role
The PR individual of past would struggle to adapt to today’s requirements. Previous demands focused on being capable or understanding the processes of writing content, event planning and maintaining relationships.
However, success is now dependant on having these things on top of a broader skill set applicable to a digital focus whilst utilising social media, content marketing and content strategy. The rapid shift in PR becoming more data driven in every process has resulted in greater pressure to respond to real time events by reacting with the correct responses to PR trends from days to now minutes. Data collation and the utilisation of the correct software to gain results has long been implemented by 72Point to highlight the success of a campaign and where improvements can be made for the future.
5) The rise of the influencer
Long gone are the traditional use of media relations, 2017 marked the year of the social media influencer. This is supported as a recent survey highlighted that youngsters would rather aspire to be social media superstars than musicians or actors.
Subsequently, media relations have advanced from merely pitching media to actively working with these individuals who are more accessible and willing to work in all forms of social media. It has directly linked PR to marketing and has influenced the methods of earning media to just paying for it.
Conclusion
Whether you had kept abreast of these new developments in 2017 or not it would hold you in good stead to follow these principles for the future. PR has dramatically changed in the past year and is constantly evolving to new pressures and technologies. At 72 Point we constantly monitor these developments and attempt to adapt to stay on course as a market leader.
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The future of digital media is in the North - here's why
The future of digital media is in the North - here's why
In what is being dubbed a “digital migration” in the industry, many media organisations that once housed their digital functions in London are migrating to the North of the country.
Although the shift can be attributed to a number of factors, early signs that London has been caught napping while the digital revolution took hold are certainly there.
According to one recruitment consultant there has been a significant increase in the demand for experienced digital professionals throughout the north, with Leeds a particular hotbed for such talent over the years.
Here's how the north positioned itself as the chief beneficiary of a digital migration.
The Past
There once was a time when London had a monopoly over the media industry. In fact, so concentrated was the media landscape that in 2003 the government was forced to intervene with the Communications Act, which required a proportion of programmes by the UK’s main broadcasters be made outside the M25. This acted as a catalyst for big media moving to the north.
The Present
Fast forward to today and the news on the media front is that Salford outranked both London and Manchester to become the UK’s top city for starting a new business in 2017. Sunderland also laid claim to the most new tech businesses in the UK, with the turnover of digital tech businesses in the city growing by 101 per cent between 2011 and 2015.
This is even further exemplified by the fact that nearly 70 per cent of total UK digital tech investment was in regional clusters beyond London, with Edinburgh (£159 million), Manchester (£78 million) and Sheffield (£61 million) among the notable recipients.
Significantly, digital employment in Sheffield and South Yorkshire stands at over 21,000 and digital firms in the region boast one of the highest growth rates of any cluster in the UK, with turnover increasing at 47 per cent.
In Birmingham, there are already an estimated 50,000 creative workers in the city area, and more than 5,800 companies. Little wonder, therefore, that Birmingham successfully lobbied to gain more investment from the BBC in the same vein as Salford by pitching itself as "young, diverse and digital".
The Future
The impact of Media City’s introduction to the wider region and the rate of growth should not be understated, as thousands of start-ups now rub shoulders with the likes of the BBC and Channel 4, who headquarter in the city.
It would appear the only way is up for the region. In 2016 a £1 billion plan to double the size of MediaCityUK was given the green light. Moreover, according to a study by DueDil, if Salford maintains its startup growth rate, the city could be on course to produce 5,286 new businesses this year alone, a huge increase of 2,436 from the previous year.
According to Stuart Clarke, who headed up the Leeds Digital Festival in June 2016, Leeds has the potential to become ‘digital capital of Europe.’ Thanks in part to the rising costs of running a business in London an increasing amount of start-ups are heading to Yorkshire to capitalise on its burgeoning digital sector. The Leeds University backed SPARK programme supports student entrepreneurs, while Futurelabs, Duke Studios, Leeds Beckett Digital Hub and ODI Leeds provide space and networking opportunities. A £3.7 million grant from Leeds City Council will be divided between innovative tech projects, and Creative England backed Gameslab Leeds will continue to support games studios in the area.
The North East is also in the process of handing the keys to the region over to tech-savvy Millennials. The IPPR “State of the North” report pointed to the opportunities afforded by the creative and tech sectors in the region that will necessitate more digital skills. Sunderland now has the highest rate of digital tech business startups in the country, while Newcastle and Middlesbrough both have higher birth rates than the national average – with a hotbed of IT and digital talent and creativity there to welcome firms who take a punt on the country’s chilly North East.
In Birmingham, the digital scene is thriving with the youthfulness and diversity of its workforce, as Under 25s make up 40 per cent of the population, making it among the youngest cities in Europe with an increasing supply of talent for media firms operating in the digital space.
Conclusion
With the secret now out, it will be interesting to see how aggressive this migration is set to be. Although London is undoubtedly important to the Digital Media sector, it seems like the tide has turned to the North with only greater growth expected in 2018.
72Point's Jack Peat will be leading Prolific North Live’s Digital Keynote Theatre on 28th February and 1st March, for more details, see https://live.prolificnorth.co.uk/.
Football clubs are putting PR at the heart of their comms strategy - and reaping the rewards
Football fans up and down the country will know the feeling. Constantly refreshing your Twitter feed to check if your team has found the final jigsaw puzzle to propel them toward the Premier League title. He finally signs - cue fanfare, interviews with the player, general knowledge articles and all-round hysteria. It demonstrates how in just a matter of years social media has become integral to fanship and football.
The worlds of marketing, PR and social media are now a big part of how football teams operate. But believe it or not there was a time before all this, when the world's biggest football teams were not paying such close attention to their PR departments.
Manchester United are the biggest football team in England and, debatably, the world. For me they are a huge example of how pivotal PR has become in football. Six years ago they allowed one of their hottest young prospects, Paul Pogba, to move on for free to Juventus in Italy. Fast forward four years and they buy Pogba back, initiating one of the most drawn out transfer sagas in football history that would eventually make him the most expensive footballer in the world (at least for a while).
Fans were literally champing at the bit for confirmation of the transfer, and when it finally came Pogba had already inherited a popstar-esque stature. Social media was sent into overdrive with content and hashtags centred around the French star returning, with Man United running ‘#Pogback’ with even his own emoji.
Then there was a collaboration video featuring Pogba (an Adidas athlete) and Stormzy (a prominent UK rapper, also part of the Adidas roster) rapping and dancing dressed in Manchester United kit (Man U are also sponsored by Adidas).
The whole thing was a PR explosion and for the first time in a while I had started to believe the football world had gone mad. From a business perspective, allowing a player who was on your books to leave for free, only to buy him back four years later for £90 million seems absolutely ludicrous. Surely that's a shocking investment and a hugely avoidable mishap that would punch a hole through the heart of Manchester United’s financial situation? Right?
Wrong. When you factor in his shirt sales reaching £190 million within three weeks, then the whole PR stunt makes perfect sense. Not only are United getting a player of extreme quality, but also by turning him into an international popstar they are actually getting value for their money at £90 million! How insane is that? And this is before we even mention the benefits for Adidas, the kit manufacturer who sponsor Man U and also Pogba.
In other words, the deal made perfect sense for everyone involved, especially Adidas, who hold Pogba as arguably their most prized asset - someone who they invest most of their marketing and advertising budgets into.
Now, let's take a look further down the leagues. This year, Bristol City (who play in the English Championship) have implemented a PR stunt that was never before seen in the world of Football. They used their Twitter account to give fans a glimpse of the players, which is nothing groundbreaking, but the way in which they did it has hooked the nation, and has pretty much made them the nation’s favourite second team.
Whenever City score, instead of tweeting an ordinary goal update, their twitter account will tweet a hilarious gif of the goalscorer doing something completely random! Examples include players cracking eggs on their heads, brushing their teeth or even doing the ironing, and this one of midfielder Bobby Reid cracking 2 beer cans over his head!
GOAL: #BristolCity 1-0 Wolves, Reid 53. #BRCvWOL pic.twitter.com/Pu8K4e3Rx5
— Bristol City FC (@bcfctweets) December 30, 2017
(See more here)
So here we see a Football team using clever content not only to give their fans fun insights into their players, but also to boost their engagement and exposure with general fans of football up and down the country. One would be forgiven for mistaking them for a PR company!
When you consider their strong start to the season which places them firmly in the promotion race and a massive cup win against the aforementioned juggernauts Manchester United, then you have a football team who are massively on the up. All this on pitch success enhances the clubs stature and size, but the clever off-field PR moments have also hooked onto fans and keeps Bristol City at the forefront of their minds.
The world of PR is ever-changing. With the explosion of social media, content has been adapted to be more snappy and hard-hitting than ever, and football has changed to match it. Football teams are paying more attention to their PR then ever, and are reaping the business and exposure benefits because of it.